Method of making metal wheels



Nov. 13, 192s. 1,691,163

E. c. Moer-ORD ET AL METHOD OF MAKING METAL WHEELS Filedv May 29, 1925Patented Nov.- 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENTHFFICE.

. EDMUND c. Moorom), or BUCHANAN, AND FREDERICK w. BURGER, or NILEs,monr- GAN, 'AssIoNoRs To CLARK EQUIPMENT CORPORALIN F MICHIGAN.

COMPANY, 0E BUCHANAN, MICHIGAN, A

METHOD 0F MAKING METAL WHEELS.'

Application iledlay 29, 1925/. Serial No. 33,657.'

Our invention relates to metal wheels of the spoke type, and has for itsobject to provide an. improved wheel which will possess all theadvantages of a cast metal` wheel, and

at the Sametime will vnot besubject to the objections which havegenerally been en countered in the manufacture of such wheels` Thenature of our invention, will clearly appear from the -following'description thereof in. connection with the accompanying drawings. A

In the accompanying drawings,vinwhich Fig. l is a side-.elevationshowing the greater part of a. wheel embodying our invention; I5 Fig.2`is a. partial vertical cross-section on line 2 2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3is a' View similar to Fig. 2 showing a. modified form.

Our improved wheel comp-rises a hub and 2G spoke structure cast as aunit, the spokes being hollow and provided attheir outer ends with padsor laterally extended seats adapted t0 receive and support a felloe ofconventional form. The casting that constitutes the hub and spokes maybe made ofsteel or malleable iron, and the felloe is a `continuoussteelba-nd of outwardly facing channel sections preferably of thedemountable type.

Referring to the drawings-4 indicates the :so

6 the pads atthe outerends ofthe spokes which support the felloe 7. Asshown at 8*, the pads are chamfered atvone side along low and are openat their outer ends, and, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the felloe. 7 issecured on said spokes by pressing rtions of the lfelloe metal inwardlyinto t-e ends of the spokes. This may be accomplished either by adrawingoperatiomas shown at 9 in Fig. 2, s which is preferable becauseit closesthe outer ends of the spokes, 'or it may be accomplished by a punchingoperation' which perforates the felloe and'\fox ns inwardly directedconical projections 10 which closely4 eng e the outer ends ofthe spokes.'By either o these expediente the felloe may be iirmly secured on thespokes, making the wheel substantiall a a unit. ,In constructingourimproved vv/heel the hub'and spoke portion is/ first cast,l thechamfered portions 8 being formed inthe casting operation. The` casting,which is in the form, oa spider gf an outer daxneter'- hub portion ofthe casting, 5 the spokes, andl their outer -margins for a purpose thatwillbe presently stated. The spokes 5 are hol' 'vent it larger than theinner diameter 'of the felloe by 55 an amount suitable to provide apressed fit,

is then pressed ylaterally into an ordinary felloe in the form of anendless band until it 1s properly centered, after which the felloelsdrawn or punched radially inwardly over the outer ends of the spokesto secure it firmly thereto. During thisy operation the wheel is siorlted against the drawing pressure by suita le supporting means appliedto the spoke being operated upon beneath the pad carried thereby, sothat the ad serves asa head to prevent movement of) the wheel. It alsosupports the felloe at the point of greatest pressure so that it is heldtrue and its distortion is prevented, and besides it re-enforces theouter end of 'the spoke so that it is not apt to be damaged under thegreat pressure to which it is subjected during the drawing operation.The spokes'may be either circular or polygonal in cross-section, butthepads 6 are preferably made oblong to provide better support for thefelloe especiallyduring thepunching or drawing operation, and also tostiien and strengthen the wheel. The outer ends of the spokes areinternally chamfered, so that the inwardly directed projections formedon the felloe by the drawing or punching operation will lit them moreclosely. The pressing or indenting of the projections such as 9 and 10after the felloe has been ten- 85 sioned by the insertion of the spiderserves^ still further to. tension therim since the metal for suchindentation is secured by stretching the web of the channelof which thefelloe is constructed. The chamfering of the pads, as' 90 abovesuggested, is to facilitate the forcing of the. spider laterally intothe felloe and prefJ from cutting into the felloe during that operationowing tothe closeness of the t. Thus 4the spider in being forced intothe 95 -ri'm has a wedging action that puts the rim under tension,making the wheel firm and rigid, and aidin in-holding the parts tightlytogether. The elloe is thereby put under a high degree of tension andythel spider like-` 100 wise under a high degree of compression.

Our improved wheel possesses a number of advantages over priorconstructions. Forexample, casting the spider separately is a. muchlighter operation than if the `wheel werecas't 105 complete, andtherefore the work o f making the casting can be done by one man lnsteadof by two as is' necessary, where the complete y done, besides more orless drilling, all of which is unnecessary with our improved wheel,since the felloes may be bought ready to be appliedA to the spiders,with all holes bored,

and the spiders ma be cast with their ends chamfered as descri d'sovthat no machining is necessary. Furthermore, as the spokes arerimless when cast, there are no casting strains which result in seriouslossby the breakage lofwheels where they are cast in com lete form. Inour improved wheel even-i lthe 'spokes should warp, likely to occur' toan which, however, is not material extent owing to the shortness of t espokes, such warping makes no material difference. Our invention 'i alsomakes practicable the use of a felloe of' soft steel in connection witha spider or center y 'of cast steel or wrought iron, with the resultthat a fairly light wheel of maximum strength is produced. Moreover, thespider may be applied to felloes of standard type, so that the completewheel does not have an odd shaped felloe such as cast wheelmanufacturers have found it necessary to use in order to cut downwelght, and therefore our wheel is attractive and'neat in appearance,which is' an important consideration from -a sales standpoint. vIn

the drawings we have shown the spider as equippedvwith a felloe and rim,of the demountable type, 11 indicating the demountable rim and 12thetire carried thereby, but

it should be understood that our invention is not limited to wheelsprovided with demountable rims, as any form of rim or felloe suitable ifor application tothe spokes in the manner described comes within itsscope. The hub portion of, the wheel may be finished for the receptionof a spindle in any suitable way, and the term hub as herein used isintended toA refer 'generically tothat portionI of the "engage intendedto include either drawing,punchhais wheel withwhich the inner e'nds ofthe spokes merge. and by which they' are connected together. Thetermpressing as used in con# nection with the eiecting of theinterlockingment between the rim andthe spokes is or other equivalent means ofprglecting, rim metal. inwardlyv to lock thezmernbersofthewheeltogether;

It is to be observed that the' hollow and, inthe shown,

' "pensis 'e t has relativzy v thick short spokes.; The wrought'steel'band 7, being of outwardly facing channel section,

great strength toresist bending stresses in forcingof the 'pidlntOtheband offence,-

a-wheelvr Whch'is internally stressed without,

circular at is to say, the circular during the? whichcomprises, forminga circular wrought pressing of the spider thereinto because of its. owninherent strength to resist bending.l The resultis a finished roundwheel., l It will be observed that by the construction herein shownthere' is no connection between the spider and the rim whichcan possiblyput the Vspokes under tension. The relation of tension in the rim andcompression in the spoke or spider is'not departed from .during the lifeofthe wheel. 75 What we claim as our invention anddesire to secure byLetters Patent', is 1. The method of constructing a circular wheel whichcomprises, forming a rigid s i- 'der, forming. a circular felloe ofloutwardly facing channel section and of relatively, deep flanges and ofan internal diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the spider,pressing the spider into the felloe to create atension in the felloe notsulicient to substantiallyl distort the form of. the felloe, but greatenough to hold the' spider under compression for all loads withinv thecapacity of the wheel. 2. The method of making a circular# wheel metalrim of a section having great strength in bending, said rim comprisingathin circular cylindrical inner peripheral wall and having relativelydeep radially extending flanges, forming a spider comprising a hub andspokes.; of an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the rim,forcing said spider f laterally into the rim to put the rim under atensionv and the spider under compression great enough to maintain theparts in such relation' throughout the life lof the wheel withoutsubstantially distorting the circular form of the rim. Y

3. The method of making a Isl'lbstantially'- circular 'finished 'wheelwhich consists in m5 forming a spider having a hub and spokes f an outerdiametterlarger than the rinnerl `ameter of the rim, forcing 'saidspider laterf ally into the'riin to put therim .under tensionl and thespider under compression "great enough to maintain the parts insuchirela-ti'on throughout'the life ofthe wheelwithout ap-jA preciabldeforming the circular contourof the rim, and then deforming thecylindrical inner'wall ofthe rim to 'provide interlocking shouldersbetween rim and the spokes to pref. vent relative displacement of thespokes along the vsurface of ther-im, said deformation fur-` Y thertensioning said inner wall.` lj 4. The method 'of making a wheelfwhichcomprises forming a rigid spider of ahub land spokes, forming a circularfelloe= T of channel section zwith relatively deep anges,and thenforcing the spider laterally into the 'felloa 5. 'The of a wheel which130 of a ub and spokes, forming a circular felloe of outwardly facingchannel section with flanges deep enough to maintain the felloe circularwhen the" spider is. forced thereinto and then forcing` the spiderlaterally into the felloe to-tension the felloe, then de orming a partof the walls of the vchannel into interlocka unitary hub and s ointerlocking shoulders ing engagement with the spokes and simultaneously increasing the tension in Vsaid felloe.

8. The method of making `a wheel'which4 comprises forming arigid spiderconsisting of a hub and hollow spokes, forming a circular felloe ofchannel shape with ianges deep enough to maintainthe felloe circular,forcing the spider laterally into the elloe to tension the same, andpressing the web of the channel into the ends ofthe spokes to provideand? to increase the tension in the felloe.

9. The method of making a lwheel which' comprises forming'a ri id spidercomprising e structure with the outer ends of the spo es separatedrelatively widely, forming a continuous circular felloe of channelshapeand of slightlyless internal diameter than the diameter of the spiderand of an inherent strength in bending great l enough to maintain thefelloe in substantially true circular shape under the thrust of thespokes of the spider and introducingthe spider under compression intothe rim under tension. y

10. The method of making awheel which comprises forming 4a unitaryspider comprising a hub and spokes rigid therewith, forming a continuouscircular felloe of hollow substantially rectangular shape with acylindrical web and integral relatively deep radially extending flanges,assembling the f elloeupon complrises forming a rigid spider consisting'i flanges,

the unitary spider and simultaneouslytensioning the felloe andlcompressing the spider. 11. The method of making a wheel whichcorlprises forming'. a spider comprisinga hub an rectangular shape witha cylindrical web and integral -relatively deep, radially extendinganges, assembling the felloe upon the spider and simultaneouslytensioning the felloe and compressing the spider, then 'deforming .theweb of the'felloe to proaide shoulders interspokes integral therewith,forming a conv tmuous'circular felloe of hollow substantially lockingwith the spokes and by said deformation furthertensioningsaid web.

12. Theinethod of making a wheel which comprises formin a spidercomprising a hub and hollow endeg'spokes inte al therewith forming'acontinuous circular -elloe of hollow substantially rectangular shapewith a cylin-l drical web and integral Aradlally extending flanges of asubstantial depth, assembling the' spider under compression within therim under tension and pressing projections from A'the walls of the web4into the ends-of the spokes and by such pressingof projectionsincreasing the tensionofthe felloe.

13. Themethod of making a metal wheel. I

which comprises castinga hollow spider having a hub and integral spokeswith pads uponthe outer ends thereof, forming arolled endless felloe ofoutwardly facing channel section with relatively deep radial flanges,pressing the spider laterally into the felloe to tension the felloe andbring the spider under compression, and then indentin the web ofv thechannel into they ends of t e spokes to form interlocking projectionsand to increase the tension on the felloe.

14. The method of making Ja wheel which 'i comprises forming a unitaryspider compris# mg a hub with spokes integral with thehub, forming a`continuous circular rim of out-l wardly facing channel section andhaving integral relatively deep radially extending said rim having aninternal diameter slightly less than the external diameter of ico -thespider to secure the desired tension in said Y rim and. compression inthe spider when the rim assembled on the outside of said spider,

and then introducing theunitary spider later.- ally into the rim.

A EDMUND o. MoGFoRD'. FREDERICK yw. BURGER.

